Overview

Los Angeles in the 1960s gave the world some of the greatest music in rock 'n' roll history: California Dreamin' by the Mamas and the Papas, Mr. Tambourine Man by the Byrds, and Good Vibrations by the Beach Boys, a song that magnificently summarized the joy and beauty of the era. But there was a dark flip side to the fun fun fun of the music, a nexus between naïve young musicians and the hangers-on who exploited the decade's peace, love, and flowers ethos, all fueled by sex, drugs, and overnight success. One surf music superstar unwittingly subsidized the kidnapping of Frank Sinatra Jr. The transplanted Texas singer Bobby Fuller might have been murdered by the Mob in what is still an unsolved case. And after hearing Charlie Manson sing, Neil Young recommended him to the president of Warner Bros. Records. Everybody Had an Ocean chronicles the migration of the rock 'n' roll business to Southern California and how the artists flourished there. The cast of characters is astonishing--Brian and Dennis Wilson of the Beach Boys, Jan and Dean, eccentric producer Phil Spector, Cass Elliot, Sam Cooke, Ike and Tina Turner, Joni Mitchell, and scores of others--and their stories form a modern epic of the battles between innocence and cynicism, joy and terror. You'll never hear that beautiful music in quite the same way.

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Reviews

With his toolbox of skills, Johnny Heller provides a friendly and informative narration, sometimes resorting to speedy noirish vocal rhythms when retelling the mysteries of the L.A. music scene in the 1960s.-- AudioFile With his toolbox of skills, Johnny Heller provides a friendly and informative narration, sometimes resorting to speedy noirish vocal rhythms when retelling the mysteries of the L.A. music scene in the 1960s. And there are plenty of mysteries. -- AudioFile

Author Information

William McKeen is an author and editor whose books include Mile Marker Zero, Highway 61, and Rock and Roll Is Here to Stay. He is chair of the Department of Journalism at Boston University. Johnny Heller is an award-winning audiobook narrator who has recorded hundreds of titles. A multiple Earphones and Audie Award winner, he was named a 2008 and 2009 Listen Up winner by Publishers Weekly and a Best Voice of 2008 and 2009--as well as one of the top fifty voices of the 20th Century--by AudioFile. A veteran stage, television, and commercial actor, he is also a stand-up comic, author, and playwright.

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